The Board of Regents is calling for a $1.2 billion increase in school funding next year, including nearly $1.5 billion for foundation aid. However, he Citizens Budget Commission says there is a much cheaper way to help low-income students.

David Friedfel, the Director of State Studies for the Citizens Budget Commission, explained a CBC report that argues that the Foundation Aid Formula, which is used to determine state funding for school districts, is skewed to favor some wealthy districts while shortchanging some poorer districts.

This school year New York State will spend $23.5 billion on aid to school districts, accounting for 25 percent of the state-funded operating budget. The State’s role in K-12 public education is critical to offsetting disparities in local wealth and student need, yet numerous problems remain in the state school aid formulas. In advance of the Governor’s budget proposal for next year, this primer outlines how state school aid functions and how to better target state resources.

CBC President Carol Kellermann discusses Governor David Paterson's offer of a menu of more than $1 billion in savings proposals from which he challenged legislators to select $600 million worth when they convened in Albany for a special session.